Bitcoin’s price (BTC) is back above $85,000 U.S. after the Federal Reserve said it still expects at least two interest rate cuts this year.
Lower interest rates are seen as a bullish indicator for risk assets such as stocks and cryptocurrencies. Although the exact timing of any future rate cuts is not known.
The Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) elected to leave interest rates unchanged at their current range of 4.25% to 4.50% following its latest policy meeting.
However, stocks and crypto rallied on news that interest rate cuts are still in play this year, with Bitcoin trading as high as $85,800 U.S. in the last 24 hours.
Other crypto were also rallying higher, with Ethereum (ETH) and Solana (SOL) each up 8% at one point following the Fed’s rate decision and forecast.
Crypto stocks also got a lift, with Bitdeer (BTDR) and Core Scientific (CORZ) rising 10% and 8%, respectively.
Stocks more broadly moved higher on Fed Chair Jerome Powell’s latest comments, with the blue-chip Dow Jones Industrial Average ending the day on March 19 up nearly 400 points.
Investors are also cheering Powell’s comments that tariff-related inflation is likely to be “transitory” and that recession risks in the U.S. remain low currently.
That said, the U.S. Federal Reserve did say that it expects economic growth this year to be lower and inflation to be higher than initially estimated.
Economists said the American central bank gave itself plenty of wiggle room to quickly change course if the economic outlook worsens in coming months.
